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Small business consultant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Brooke Buffington,

Neil Boyd Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical small business consultant skills. We ranked the top skills for small business consultants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 57.2% of small business consultant resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a small business consultant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 small business consultant skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how small business consultants use customer service:

Frequent client communication to provide customer service, identify new opportunities and develop strategies to succeed ROI benchmarks
Collaborated with management to develop strategic plans to increase production, productivity and customer service.

2. Business Clients

Here's how small business consultants use business clients:

Conducted comprehensive needs assessment and analysis to recommend appropriate products and solutions to address requirements of small business clients.
Consult with micro/small business clients to develop a digital marketing strategy.

3. Outbound Calls

An outbound call is made by the call center representative to the customers on behalf of the company. Such calls help increase sales and generate revenue for the organization.

Here's how small business consultants use outbound calls:

Respond to client requests via inbound and outbound calls or via email to provide estimates and set appointments.
Conducted business to business outbound calls to current American Express OPEN clients that meet program requirements.

4. Strong Computer

Here's how small business consultants use strong computer:

Position requires strong computer skills, leadership skills, and professionalism.

5. Financial Statements

A financial statement is a report of an individual or a company that includes all the information about the declared assets, the use of money, income, and also the contribution of shareholders over a certain period.

Here's how small business consultants use financial statements:

Analyze Financial Statements and assist in turn around profitability.
Aided in the preparation and presentation of monthly financial statements to both the management staff and the Board of Directors.

6. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how small business consultants use business development:

Managed operations, business development, marketing strategy, web design and branding functions for family-owned start-up small business venture.
Specialize in new business development by generating new accounts and establishing clientele.

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7. Business Solutions

Business solutions are potential outcomes for companies struggling with a particular objective, often surrounding a customer issue. There are five main parts to a successful business solution: (1) the target customer, (2) the activity, (3) the overall goal, (4) the hurdles or obstacles, and (5) the preferred outcome.

Here's how small business consultants use business solutions:

Proposed business partnership, recommended business solutions, advised on changes/modifications and developed broad working relationship with clients.
Delivered superior consulting services and business solutions for small businesses to increase productivity and revenue.

8. Product Offerings

Here's how small business consultants use product offerings:

Selected for division-wide launch of Microsoft Office 365 product offerings and sales cycle management.
Worked directly with managers to advise on effective product offering of the PCS portfolio.

9. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how small business consultants use payroll:

Created standardized operating procedures for a start-up to enable manageable back-office operations including invoicing, payroll, and capital/resource management.
Developed hiring policies and procedures including payroll procedures for each company.

10. Sales Objectives

Here's how small business consultants use sales objectives:

Consulted business customers with the best products and services while increasing sales objectives on a month to month basis.
Exceeded daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales objectives earning multiple corporate sales award for seven years.

11. Sales Presentations

Here's how small business consultants use sales presentations:

Presented sales presentations and proposals by identifying features and advantages of product over the competitor.
Make sales presentations to prospective customers at businesses and residences.

12. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how small business consultants use human resources:

Established comprehensive Human Resources Policies and Procedures.
Implemented comprehensive business solution which included Human Resources

13. ADP

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) is a US provider of human resource management software and services. A personnel management system with which daily human resources processes are manageable and easily accessible. It fusion human resources as a discipline and its basic HR activities, and processes with the mastery of information technologies.

Here's how small business consultants use adp:

Maintain client relationships of 100+ clients in a given territory and uncover needs to sell additional products from ADP.
Received level 2 ADP corporate sales training.

14. Product Knowledge

Product knowledge is the skill of having better information and knowledge about the product you are selling. Product knowledge is essential for the employees of the companies so they can communicate and inform the customers about the product. Having great product knowledge is essential for a better sales pitch and to give the customer a better and complete idea of the product that will influence him to buy the product eventually.

Here's how small business consultants use product knowledge:

Applied strong product knowledge base to help influence members into maximizing the potential of their AMEX OPEN business account.
Generated leads, established rapport with prospects, and consulted to identify needs and provide product knowledge.

15. Territory Development

Here's how small business consultants use territory development:

Earn new business through effective territory development, community connection agents, and referrals from clients, and trade shows.

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What skills help Small Business Consultants find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on small business consultant resumes?

Brooke Buffington

Senior Associate Director of Corporate and Employer Relations, Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, Elon University

Skills that standout are often position specific, but there are always skills that a wide-variety of employers seek. These skills align with the competencies developed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which include skills in critical thinking/problem solving, oral/written communication, teamwork/collaboration, digital technology, leadership, professionalism/work-ethic, career management, and global/intercultural fluency.

What soft skills should all small business consultants possess?

Neil Boyd Ph.D.

David J. & Deborah West Professor of Management; Chair, Management and Organizations Department, Bucknell University

Humility, empathy, integrity, emotional intelligence, a concern for others, a desire to create community at work, a concern for social and environmental justice.

What hard/technical skills are most important for small business consultants?

Neil Boyd Ph.D.

David J. & Deborah West Professor of Management; Chair, Management and Organizations Department, Bucknell University

Project management, understanding and using concepts, models, and theory from management science, analytics, excel/SPSS/R, Powerpoint/Google Slides.

What small business consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Steve Barr Ph.D.

Professor of Technology Management, North Carolina State University

I generally discourage a "gap" year, unless necessary. If you take one, you need to be able to show that your activities are consistent with developing skills/abilities that will facilitate your career and value to potential employers. Taking a year off to "find yourself" does not cut it.

What type of skills will young small business consultants need?

Jim Drinkwine

Professor, Whatcom Community College

Employers consistently say they want graduates with strong people skills. While technical skills are good, being able to work effectively in group settings is more important. I hear from students all the time about how much they dislike group projects for several reasons. However, the topic of the group project isn't as crucial as the teamwork skills you develop as a part of this type of learning. Take every opportunity you can to develop strong skills in interpersonal communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Do you want to know more?

List of small business consultant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a small business consultant resume and required skills for a small business consultant to have include:

Customer Service
Business Clients
Outbound Calls
Strong Computer
Financial Statements
Business Development
Business Solutions
Product Offerings
Payroll
Sales Objectives
Sales Presentations
Human Resources
ADP
Product Knowledge
Territory Development
Market Research
QuickBooks

Inbound Calls
SEO
Business Accounts
Windows
Cold Calls
Business Operations
Market Analysis
PowerPoint
Customer Retention
Billing Issues
Facebook
CPA
Business Growth
Financial Reports
Tax Returns
Customer Accounts
Press Releases

Customer Loyalty
Financial Analysis
Training Programs
ROI
Customer Inquiries
Local Businesses
Customer Contracts
LLC
Customer Issues
Business Processes
Inventory Management
ADT
A/R
DSL
Customer Payments

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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